Downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter is leaning into its rabbit-filled past for a morning of brunch, cocktails, and live bunny encounters. The Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is hosting Bunnies & Brunch at its Wild Hare Bar Garden on Saturday, September 26, from 11 AM to 1 PM, tying the celebration to National Bunny Day.
According to KPBS, the event will feature bunny encounters supplied by Talia's Tails, live music, brunch favorites from Wild Hare Bar Garden, a permanent jewelry station from Headed West Jewelry, and a pop-up charm bar. Talia's Tails, founded by a local student, is a Carmel Valley- and Del Mar-based pet service that specializes in Holland Lop rabbit care, offering bunny boarding, socialization, and mobile petting encounters, according to Talia's Tails. Headed West Jewelry, meanwhile, is an artisan pop-up business specializing in custom-welded permanent jewelry made from 14K gold and sterling silver, per Headed West Jewelry.
The brunch takes place at the hotel's address, 401 K Street, and doubles as a showcase for the property's rabbit mascot, Hip Hop, described in the KPBS event listing as the unofficial mayor of Rabbitville. The hotel is also running a Rabbitville-themed exhibition, and per the event notice, guests should check the organizer's website for the most updated schedule, since event dates and times are subject to change without notice.
How Rabbitville Got Its Name
The nickname predates the hotel by more than a century and a half. Downtown San Diego earned the local nickname Rabbitville after San Francisco merchant William Heath Davis's 1850 waterfront development failed during an economic depression, leaving the area largely undeveloped and heavily populated by wild jackrabbits until real estate developer Alonzo Horton purchased 800 acres in 1867, according to the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation. The Gaslamp Quarter itself was nicknamed Rabbitville for its robust bunny population around 1860. Local lore adds one more wrinkle: as the story goes, one determined rabbit stayed behind after the rest relocated — a detail the hotel now channels through Hip Hop's mascot role.
That history is tangible just blocks away at the Davis-Horton House, built in 1850 as a pre-fabricated saltbox structure that stands as downtown San Diego's oldest building. The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation operates it today as the Gaslamp Museum, chronicling the area's growth from Rabbitville shanties to a Victorian commercial center. The surrounding Gaslamp Quarter was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and encompasses 16.5 blocks containing more than 90 historic Victorian commercial structures, according to GPSmyCity.
A Renovated Rabbit-Themed Venue
Wild Hare Bar Garden itself is a relatively new addition to the hotel. The Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter completed a $22.5 million full-property renovation in June 2023 that redesigned all 286 guest rooms and introduced Wild Hare Bar Garden as its flagship indoor-outdoor restaurant and cocktail bar, per LODGING Magazine. Designed by waldrop+nichols studio, the space features an on-site herb garden for fresh culinary ingredients and serves craft cocktails named after rabbit puns alongside California-inspired cuisine — a garden-inspired setting that fits the September 26 celebration.
The timing lines up with a broader observance. International Rabbit Day was established in 1998 by The Rabbit Charity in the United Kingdom and is observed globally on the fourth Saturday of September to advocate for the welfare, protection, and proper care of both wild and domestic rabbits, according to the Rabbit.org Foundation. That global framing gives the local brunch its calendar hook, even as it leans on distinctly San Diego history and vendors.
The Serious Side of Rabbit Rescue
Behind the cocktails and petting stations, San Diego's rabbit welfare groups are dealing with more pressing numbers. The volunteer-led San Diego House Rabbit Society provided specialized medical treatments and spay/neuter services for more than 200 rabbits rescued from overpopulated regional animal shelters in 2024, according to nonprofit tax filings reviewed by Cause IQ. The San Diego Humane Society reported in July 2025 that it was caring for nearly 200 small animals across its campuses — including 52 domestic rabbits — and issued urgent appeals for public adoptions due to severe shelter capacity constraints, as reported by CBS 8 San Diego.
It's a reminder that behind the mascot branding and pun-heavy cocktail menu sits a real population of rabbits still waiting for homes across the county. Hoodline has previously covered local rabbits available for adoption in San Diego, and the Hilton itself hosted a similarly themed pet gathering when it welcomed dogs back for Santa Paws late last year.
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